Trying Ina Garten's Apple Spice Cake for Fall + Photos

Publish date: 2024-05-07

I cut my cake into squares and served each slice with vanilla ice cream and drizzles of caramel. It looked — and tasted — like an absolute delight.

Garten's fresh apple spice cake was a delicious flurry of fall flavors. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Garten recommends enjoying her fresh apple spice cake with a cup of tea in the afternoon for a snack, or with ice cream and caramel for the "perfect dessert." 

I opted for the latter for my first taste of the cake, which was a flurry of fantastic fall flavors. The nearly caramel flavor of the rum-soaked raisins brought some sweetness to the Granny Smith apples, while the pecans added some crunch. The cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves infused the cake with their warm and nutty flavors, complementing each other perfectly, while the orange zest brought some balancing brightness to each bite. 

The texture of the cake was also deliciously moist, and eating it warm with some ice cream and caramel on top felt like such a treat. Since the flavors aren't overwhelmingly sweet, you can also enjoy the cake for breakfast without the ice cream or caramel, which is what I did the morning after I baked it. 

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufony1vtiipaBlmaOubrPAq6uepqNirrG8y55krKiZmLJur8CknGaen6d6p63LpWSpoJ%2BpvLR5kWlpbGVhZQ%3D%3D